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• » 12 Feb 1944

• Soviet forces captured Luga, Ukraine. ww2dbase [TH]
• Plaice was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Plaice | CPC]
• Aircraft of the British No. 617 Squadron made an attack on the Antheor Viaduct, a bottle-neck on the main railway line between Marseille, France and Genoa, Italy. It had been attacked three times before without success and 100,000 tons of German supplies crossed it every week to keep Albert Kesselring's Italian armies in action. Cheshire in one Lancaster bomber and Martin in another, were to mark the target. They were met by a hail of flak and the night was completely black. The attack failed, although there were several near misses. This convinced Cheshire that they needed Mosquito aircraft instead of Lancaster bombers if low-level bombing was to achieve success. ww2dbase [AC]
• The troopship Khedive Ismail, en-route to India, was torpedoed and sunk in two minutes by the 2,000-ton Japanese submarine I-27 near the Maldives islands. Only 260 of the 1,297 passengers and crew were saved (only 113 of 754 Askaris of 301st Field Regiment, East African Artillery survived) including 9 out of 86 women, most of whom were below decks at a concert party. Escorts brought the submarine to the surface with depth charges and kept the crew from reaching her 5.5-inch deck gun with cannon fire, then eventually sank the submarine with torpedoes. The extent of the disaster was kept a closely guarded secret until after the war. ww2dbase [AC]
• USS Alabama departed to escort US carriers for the raid on Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Alabama | CPC]
• U-1059 departed Europe with torpedoes and other supplies on board for German submarines operating in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. ww2dbase [U-1059 | CPC]

• Escort carrier USS Bogue detached from Convoy TU-7 and proceeded independently to Norfolk, Virginia. ww2dbase [Bogue | DS]

• More than 200 US aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Japanese launched about 50 fighters in defense. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• Her boilers repaired, destroyer USS Saufley joined a convoy with 12 troop landing ships (LCIs) sailing from Guadalcanal to Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Saufley | Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands | DS]

• Destroyer Yuzuki departed Truk, Caroline Islands, escorting Convoy No. 1,123. ww2dbase [Yuzuki | Truk | CPC]
• Irako completed her repairs at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Irako | Truk | CPC]

• At 0100 hours, German supply ship Charlotte Schliemann was hit by one shell from destroyer HMS Relentless in the Indian Ocean. The German crew of 41 officers and men then abandoned ship and were taken prisoner. ww2dbase [AC]

• Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg requested Allied air forces for the bombing of the abbey at Monte Cassino, Italy. ww2dbase [Battle of Monte Cassino | Cassino, Lazio | CPC]

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Kure, Japan. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]
• The keel of landing ship No. 104 was laid down by Osaka Zosen. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) sortied from Majuro, Marshall Islands to conduct air strikes on the main Japanese anchorage at Truk Atoll, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Yorktown (Essex-class) | Majuro | DS]

• While returning from her ninth war patrol and only one day prior to arriving at Midway, submarine USS Saury took a large wave over the stern that caused significant flooding through the open hatches. ww2dbase [Saury | DS]
• For the third day in a row, submarine USS Spearfish came upon a Japanese convoy. This one was made up of four cargo ships and two escorts. Spearfish fired four torpedoes at one of the cargo ships with two hits. The results were not observed but all indications were that the ship sank. With no more torpedoes remaining, Spearfish set a course for Midway. ww2dbase [Spearfish | South China Sea | DS]

• USS Ranger arrived at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. ww2dbase [Ranger | Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island | DS]

12 Feb 1944 Interactive Map